Breakfast
by cherylwoo
Summary: Kuroko tries his hand at cooking breakfast for Akashi.


Kuroko read through the recipe he had printed off the internet once again to make sure that he had all the ingredients to make French toast set out and ready to cook. He was a novice at cooking; the only thing he could make that was reasonably edible was hard-boiled eggs, and Kuroko didn't want Akashi to simply just eat plain eggs for breakfast. And Kuroko wasn't too confident with cooking an extravagant meal either, so he settled for a relatively simple breakfast – French toast.

The radio was announcing the weather forecast for the different countries around the world, but Kuroko wasn't paying any attention to it. He had switched on the radio to have some background noise in order to calm his nerves about cooking for Akashi.

Kuroko really hoped he was capable of making a decent meal for Akashi. He knew that Akashi's mother would cook delicious meals for her son when she was alive, and that after she died, Akashi had his meals prepared by very qualified and accomplished cooks. Needless to say, Akashi was more or less used to good food – perhaps it was even safe to say "gourmet food". Kuroko knew that his amateur cooking skills definitely could not compare with Akashi's mother and the Akashi household cooks. But he hoped that Akashi would like the French toast he was about to cook.

Kuroko had read the recipe over and over again the day before, so he had more or less memorised the steps. First, he cracked an egg into a bowl and beat it until it was a nicely uniformed yellowy liquid. Then, he added a teaspoon of vanilla extract and a quarter cup of milk into the bowl. Included in the recipe was also half a teaspoon of cinnamon, but there wasn't any cinnamon in the kitchen. Kuroko figured that he could forego the cinnamon, since it probably only added a nicer flavour to the French toast. At least he had all the necessary ingredients. Besides, the mixture already had vanilla extract. Anything with vanilla in it tasted great, right? Kuroko stirred the mixture thoroughly until he was sure all the ingredients had blended in and mixed well together.

Kuroko poured some oil into a skillet and placed it onto the stove. He switched on the stove to heat the oil up. After about 30 seconds, when Kuroko deemed the pan hot enough, he dipped a piece of bread into the egg-vanilla-milk mixture, coating both sides evenly, before placing it onto the skillet.

Kuroko had just flipped the bread over when an arm wrapped itself around his waist and pulled him away from the stove. Kuroko gasped as he was spun around to face a cheery-looking Akashi, who was dressed in his bathrobe.

"Good morning, darling," greeted Akashi as he planted a kiss on Kuroko's mouth.

"Ah," Kuroko inhaled sharply as Akashi began leading him into a dance. "Good morning, Seijuurou-kun… but what are you doing?"

Akashi smirked. "Dancing with you," he replied.

"Dare I even ask why?"

Akashi shrugged as he twirled Kuroko around. "Just felt like it," he said. "Besides, this is a nice song to dance to."

Kuroko shifted his attention back to the radio, which was now playing 'Thinking Out Loud' by Ed Sheeran. "They were dancing in the music video for this song too," he commented.

"I know," murmured Akashi. His lips curled into a smile when Kuroko's hesitant steps began to match his own.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Seijuurou-kun… but I won't be able to match the dancing in that video."

Akashi laughed. "Neither can I," he said.

"Mm…" Kuroko hummed when Akashi tightened his arm around Kuroko's waist. "You know that your French toast is getting burnt even as we speak now?"

Akashi chuckled and planted a kiss on Kuroko's forehead. "As long as I get to dance with you, I don't mind," he said. "I don't understand why you're so adamant on cooking something for me."

Kuroko squeezed his partner's hand. Akashi had spent the previous night trying to dissuade Kuroko from making breakfast and totally failed, much to the former's chagrin. "It's just something I really want to do as your future spouse."

Akashi sighed. He dipped Kuroko, leaning forward over him. "I get it," said Akashi. "I just don't understand."

"Just accept my love in the form of a cooked meal, Seijuurou-kun," Kuroko replied with a wink.

Akashi smiled at Kuroko and released him. "I suppose that would be the best thing to do," he said.

"Yes," Kuroko agreed joyfully. "Now I must save your toast before it is burnt to a crisp."

Akashi laughed. "Okay darling, I'll leave you to cook in peace now," he said, chortling his way out of the kitchen.

* * *

Akashi was silently sniggering over the comics in the newspaper when Kuroko came out of the kitchen with a plate of French toast and a bottle of maple syrup. He set the plate down in front of Akashi. "I've got coffee for you as well. Hold on while-"

"Wait." Akashi grabbed Kuroko's wrist. "What about you?"

"Me?" Kuroko paused. "Uh, I'll make something simple for myself later. You have to leave earlier than I do anyway."

Akashi's gaze softened. "Silly Tetsuya," he muttered. "I can't eat if you're not going to as well. Go and grab another plate – I'll share the toast with you."

"Will that be enough for you?" Kuroko asked worriedly.

"It's more than enough," replied Akashi.

"Are you sure?" Kuroko looked at Akashi with an uncertain expression.

"Yes, yes…" Akashi said placatingly, pushing Kuroko towards the kitchen.

When Kuroko disappeared into the kitchen, Akashi closed the newspaper, folded it and put it aside. He inhaled a whiff of the French toast Kuroko had cooked. It didn't smell too bad, considering Kuroko complained about his cooking skills.

Akashi was still studying the French toast when Kuroko placed a mug of black coffee behind the plate of French toast on the dining table. Akashi glanced up at Kuroko. "Did you brew this from scratch?"

"Yes."

Akashi reached out for the mug of coffee and brought it to his lips. He took a sip.

Kuroko was looking at Akashi with an expectant look on his face. He had never brewed coffee before; whenever he made coffee, it was from the instant three-in-one packs that the supermarket sold. Kuroko wasn't too particular about his coffee, so he could make do with simpler versions of coffee. But Akashi was used to properly-brewed coffee, so Kuroko wanted to make properly-brewed coffee for Akashi.

However, when Akashi's eyes widened and he choked on his coffee, Kuroko felt his heart fall into his stomach. "It tastes terrible, doesn't it?" he asked Akashi sadly.

"It's… it's unconventional…" croaked Akashi. He used the back of his bathrobe sleeve to wipe away the coffee that was dribbling down his chin.

Kuroko sighed dejectedly. "I knew it – I'm awful at being domestic," he bemoaned. "Give that back – I'll go brew some tea instead. I can't screw up brewing tea," he said, holding his hand out.

"No you're not. Not totally anyway," countered Akashi. "I haven't even tried the French toast yet. And I'm drinking this coffee – every last drop."

Kuroko rolled his eyes. "Seijuurou-kun, you don't have to force yourself-" he said.

"No, no!" Akashi interrupted. "It's not that bad! Really!"

"Seijuurou-kun…"

"Tetsuya, you made this out of love and because I love you I will finish drinking this too," stated Akashi with determination. "Now, come sit and eat."

Kuroko's lower lip trembled as he gazed at Akashi affectionately. That Akashi was willing to drink the horrible coffee spoke volumes of his bountiful love for Kuroko.

Kuroko sat down on the empty seat and gave Akashi his plate so that Akashi could place some French toast on his plate. He noticed that Akashi purposely kept the first slightly more burnt toast for himself. Kuroko was about to open his mouth to say something, but Akashi looked up at him and smiled so sweetly at him that Kuroko's voice died in his throat.

"You alright, darling?"

Kuroko coughed once to clear his throat. "Uh… yeah."

Satisfied with Kuroko's answer, Akashi shifted his attention to his French toast. There was no maple syrup in the house, so Kuroko had laid out a small jar of honey, which Akashi took and poured a nice amount of onto his toast. Then, he cut a piece and put it into his mouth.

Kuroko still hadn't touched his French toast. He was looking at Akashi, trying to gauge his reaction to Kuroko's cooking. Would it be as foul as the coffee? Or had Kuroko managed to make a decent meal?

Akashi chewed his food and swallowed, his expression indifferent.

"So?" Kuroko asked. "How is it?" He was bouncing with excitement in his seat.

"It's quite good, actually."

"Really?" Kuroko's eyes widened in disbelief. Once he had discovered that the coffee he had made was terrible, he had expected the French toast to be as disastrous as the coffee. Kuroko's look of astonishment slowly turned into a happy smile. He had cooked something that pleased Akashi!

"See? You can be domestic," Akashi pointed out. "Just not with coffee."

Kuroko turned pink. "I guess," he muttered shyly. He began to dig into the French toast.

Akashi looked at Kuroko tenderly. "Tetsuya…"

"Hm?"

"I think I now know why you wanted to cook breakfast," said Akashi. "I already know how much you love me, but I can really feel your love through this, you know?"

Kuroko beamed at Akashi proudly. "I'm glad to know that I've achieved my objective. And…" Kuroko adjusted his position by leaning forward slightly. "The fact that you are willing to drink my coffee also tells me that you love me very much."

Akashi laughed heartily before his lips curled into a loving smile. He reached out to take Kuroko's hand and brought it to his lips, kissing it gently. His thumb rubbed the back of Kuroko's hand softly.


End file.
